Inert
by Mixed-Shades
Summary: "She saw her husband's tears as he held her cold and inert body close to his chest, saw the absolute despair and sorrow in his black eyes, heard his angered and saddened words as he sobbed loudly into the stormy skies of Wasteland.". Oswald and Ortensia's struggle while she was inert. Set in EM 1, one-shot.


**Inert**

Everything hurt. Her legs, her arms, her chest, her throat, her face… a throbbing pain enveloped her entire being. She felt like she was slowly choking to death as her lungs and throat were squeezed mercilessly by invisible hands. A hard substance covered every part of her body like plastic wrap, leaving her unable to move.

She felt like a statue.

However, she was still able to see and hear everything around her. She saw her husband's tears as he held her cold and inert body close to his chest, saw the absolute despair and sorrow in his black eyes, heard his angered and saddened words as he sobbed loudly into the stormy skies of Wasteland. She saw the bottle containing the Shadow Blot beside them and would have smiled in relief if she could still move. They had done it. Wasteland was safe.

Even though she felt relieved, she also felt miserable as she watched the happy, determined, hopeful gleam fade away from her beloved husband's eyes to be replaced by a dark shadow of regret, despair and pure sorrow. Something in her chest broke as this new gaze in the Lucky Rabbit's eyes slowly became empty in the days that followed. Everyone in Wasteland was celebrating; the forgotten toons' lives were filled with joy and hope once again, but their leader had turned into a shell. He felt nothing, cared for nothing and wanted distance from everyone and everything. His world had been shattered and his heart was broken beyond repair.

Ortensia wanted to reach out to him so much it hurt. She wanted to scream at him that she was still there and would always be, wanted to hold him close and never let go. But alas, her inert state prevented her from even uttering a word. She herself was just as alone as her Hunny Bunny and as much as she wanted to bring a smile back to his face, she couldn't _._

The following years weren't easy on either of them. Oswald talked to her every day, told her how much he missed her, how much he needed her, how everything looked so grim without her around. Ortensia tried to reply to him, tell him how much she missed seeing his smile, how much she'd like to feel him in her arms once again and fight away these wretched feelings of sadness and regret that kept haunting him. But she _couldn't_.

Her nonexistent heart broke a little every time she heard him cry at her feet, heard him whisper hateful words towards a traitorous friend, a monster and a distant younger brother. He constantly promised to make everything right, to avenge her, to destroy all the demons of their past. She just wanted to stroke his ears like she always did when he was sad, whisper sweet nothings at him and tell him it would be okay, even though it most likely wouldn't. _But she couldn't._

All she could do was watch her husband's suffering, hear his cries, pleads and curses, and hope that her presence alone would be enough to keep him from losing his mind. Because her inert state prevented her from picking up the pieces and making all that pain go away. This knowledge killed her inside every day. The fact that she was so close to him but couldn't do anything to help was so unbearable she thought she would die. Unfortunately, she wasn't that lucky. Every day was a relentless struggle.

Yet everything changed when Mickey Mouse winded up in Wasteland.

Saying Oswald was displeased would be the biggest understatement of the century. He told her in a bitter way about how Mickey had befriended gremlin Gus and saved his village on the first day. How quick people in OsTown and Mean Street warmed up to him. How he was playing detective to keep Horace happy. How he chased all the Blotlings and Beetleworx away from Tortooga so that Mr. Smee and the rest of Captain Hook's crew could return home.

In Ortensia's view, Mickey certainly lived up to his reputation. He was a good guy and this frustrated Oswald to no end. She knew why though; if Mickey proved he wasn't the evil being Oswald had convinced himself he was then the rabbit would have no reason to hate the mouse anymore. Since Oswald was as stubborn as a mule, it would take time for him to see reason.

Eventually, Oswald decided to start acting nicer towards Mickey and began to consider him not only a valuable ally, but also a possible friend. Ortensia had been very proud of her husband for finally deciding to forget about that stupid grudge of his and get to know the real Mickey Mouse. At last, things were starting to look up for them…

…Until it hit the fan.

Oswald was pissed. Not angry. Not mad. **Pissed**. And it was all because of Mickey's latest confession. The Shadow Blot, that huge living nightmare that had almost wiped out all of Wasteland all those years ago, the monster that had turned her inert and crushed Oswald's soul, was apparently created by the Disney mascot himself. Ortensia was having trouble processing this information as well, but instantly forgot her shock and went back to feeling miserable once she saw how desperate and _tired_ the Lucky Rabbit looked. Desperate because the Thinner Disaster was repeating itself and tired of living in broken dreams.

Ortensia had been so happy that Oswald was finally enjoying himself with his brother. He had actually _smiled_ again… and now that sorrowful look was back in his eyes. And she couldn't do anything to make it go away. This constant helplessness was worse than death. Having to constantly watch her Hunny Bunny suffering like this was pure hell.

She was sure that Mickey didn't do what he did on purpose. He was too good of a toon to ever wish ill will on someone and Oswald knew it as well. She hated not being able to tell him that. Not being able to tell him to not despair and look up ahead, to fight alongside his brother and save Wasteland.

She didn't need to, though. Oswald ended up doing the right thing. He heard and accepted Mickey's apology. He admitted his own mistakes. He wanted to start over and Mickey was all for it. It warmed Ortensia's heart to see the two brothers smiling at each other and reaching out their hands to shake on it-

Until a black tentacle sucked them all into the Shadow Blot's body.

She didn't remember what happened next. For several hours, all she could see was darkness. But then a growling sound rang through the thick inky walls around her and she felt them shaking like an earthquake. A big explosion destroyed the huge monster and she, Oswald and Mickey were sent flying across the stormy skies of Wasteland.

Everything was happening so fast she felt like she was dreaming. And when the ink drops fell on her stone-like body, breaking the curse that had kept her soul trapped for so many miserable years, she was _sure_ she was dreaming. She gasped once she felt the cold morning air hit her black fur and looked down at her body in shock. Her colors were back. She moved her fingers in front of her face, staring at them as if it were the first time. Then she moved her arms and her legs and gazed at them in an equal fashion. She couldn't believe it. Not only could she _feel_ again, but she could also _move_.

Ortensia looked around the Mean Street square, marveling at the sight of ink rain falling down on top of buildings and hitting the hard pavement, repairing the damages the war had caused, mending old wounds and restoring the land's old glory. She felt an irrepressible happiness bubble up in her chest and twirled around with a giggle, never wanting to wake up from this wonderful dream.

Then her eyes met her husband's own unbelieving ones and she immediately lunged at him, filling his face with desperate kisses that failed to convey all the unconditional love and desperate longing she felt every time she looked at him. Once she felt him hold her close to his chest with no intention of letting go ever again, his warmth enveloping her and replacing a lingering coldness, she realized this was no dream. She was actually in Oswald's secure and loving arms. This was _real_. Tears streamed down her pale face as she sobbed loudly against her husband's chest, feeling his own tears soaking her hair. Oh god, how amazing it was to _feel_ once again, to be this close to him and touch him, to tell him how much she loved him and that she'll never leave him again.

It felt so good to be home. Words couldn't even begin to describe how _happy_ she was right now. She was feeling pure joy and relief after such a long time spent in a cage of sorrow and despair and it was overwhelming. She actually thought she'd never feel Oswald's tender touches again, inhale his smell, hold him tightly and kiss him with as much love and passion as he did her. It was too good to be true.

She was indebted to Mickey. He had restored the hope she and all of the forgotten toons had lost a long time ago. He had shown them the way to new goals, dreams and paradise. He fought away the seemingly eternal darkness clouding Wasteland and showed its inhabitants a new shining light.

He brought back their freedom.

 _Thank you, Mickey._


End file.
